Screen door fastener



Feb '25, 1936. A. R. MELLOR SCREEN DOOR FASTENER Filed Aug. 5, 1953 Patented Feb. 25, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

The invention relates to a latch for screen doors and the like, that is strong, practical and simple in operation, and also reasonable in cost of manufacture, and while it has been devised principally for swinging doors it will be readily apparent that it may be used for looking or latching sliding doors, and also gates and other closure structures, including boxes and other containers.

The invention will be described in detail hereinafter and will be found illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side View in elevation of the door fastening showing the two members of the latch separated, the latching means being shown in broken lines,

Figure-2 is a similar view showing the latch housing in vertical section and the two members of the latch in fastening position,

Figure 3 is a rear view in elevation,

Figure 4, a front view in elevation,

Figure 5, a sectional view on a plane indicated by the line 55 of Figure 2, and

Figure 6 is a sectional view on a plane indicated by the line 6-6 of Figure 1.

In the drawing similar reference characters are used to designate corresponding parts in all the views.

The improved fastening means or latch comprises a housing Ill that is adapted to be secured to a fixed structure, such for instance as: the lamb of a door, designated A, and a bolt member II secured to a plate I2 that is in turn secured to a door B. The bolt has an inclined shoulder I3 and a notch or recess I4 therein.

The housing Ill has a base plate I 5 to which is secured a U-shaped housing member I6 by means of returned edges H on said base plate I5 and engaging outwardly directed flanges I8 on the member I6. The front'of the housing I is closed by means of a wall I 9 that is preferably bent up from the base plate I5, and is provided with an opening 20 to receive the latch bolt I I. 2| indicates a keeper member or plate that is slidably mounted in grooved guides 22, and in its lowered position as shown in Figure 2 engages in the notch or recess I4 to hold the bolt I I from withdrawal from the housing.

The keeper 2| is actuated by means of a lever 23 pivoted or fulcrumed as shown at 24 and has a stud 25 that engages in a perforated car 26 on the inside of the plate 2|. The opening for the pivot 24 is an elongated slot as shown at 21 to provide for lost motion in moving the plate 2| from its engaging position as shown in full lines in Figure 2, and its disengaged position as shown in broken lines in said figure.

The free end of the lever 23 extends through an elongated opening or slot 28 in the rear wall 29 of the housing, said rear wall being also integral with the base plate I and bent inwardly of the rear end of the housing to provide a hood 30 enclosing the free end 3| of the lever to prevent actuation of the lever except from the inside of the house.

The slot 28 has an offset 3| at its lower end to receive the lever to hold it in position so that the locking plate 2| is unalined with the opening 20 and to prevent latching of the door in its closed position. 32 indicates a shouldered projection extending into the slot 28 that engages the lever 23 when the plate 2| is in latching position as shown best in Figure 3, and will hold the door or other secured member from being opened.

33 designates a leaf spring secured to the wall 29 and engaging the lever 23 to normally hold the plate 2| in latching position, said spring being designed to permit the plate 2| to be lifted when the door is closed by riding on the inclined shoulder I3 and then to hold it into engagement with the notch or recess M to latch the door and prevent it being opened except by operation of the lever 23, this operation of course taking place only when the lever 23 is not in engagement with the shouldered projection 32.

It is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to the precise or exact arrangement of parts illustrated and described, as details of construction may be modified and rearranged without departing from the spirit of the invention, the. scope being limited only by the terms of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:--

A latch, comprising a housing having side, top, and bottom walls, an end wall having an opening to receive a latch bolt, a plate slidable on said end wall relatively to said opening, a lever pivotally engaging said plate and pivotally mounted in said housing, another end wall spaced from the free edges of the bottom, top and side walls to form a hood, and provided with a slot receiving said lever for manual operation, and a leaf spring secured to the last mentioned end wall and engaging the lever to normally move the plate into latching position, the free end of said lever extending into said hood and the hood providing means for operation of the lever from one end of the housing only.

ADRIEN R. MELLOR. 

